


Excursion

by torturingtaylor (itzaimster)



Category: Hanson
Genre: Conspiracy, Gen, Government Conspiracy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-01
Updated: 2015-05-01
Packaged: 2018-03-26 14:45:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,727
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3854605
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itzaimster/pseuds/torturingtaylor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Taylor chaperones a rare research excursion for Penny and River.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Excursion

**Author's Note:**

> This is an actual dream I had, so I'm sorry for everything in advance.

“How long do we have to stay here?” River asked, already bored.  
“We only just got here!” Penny pulled a face.  
“And you should be paying attention,” Taylor hushed, indicating the tour guide up ahead of the group, “not many kids even get this tour. Make the most of it.”  
River groaned but joined the back of the group.   
“Keep an eye on him,” he told Penny, who just grinned knowingly before following her brother.  
He watched the two of them assimilate and stood back to listen himself. The group was small – maybe twenty children, all around the same age – and had mostly been chosen from the local schools to take part in this one-off tour of the local nutritional research facility/laboratory. A handful of home schoolers had managed an invite, including River, and Natalie had worked some magic to get Penny included as well. But then her mother had suddenly taken ill and left Taylor to chaperone for the day.  
He was among three other older women, who looked to be teachers from the local schools but whom he’d never met. So he kept to the back of the crowd just aiming to listen and learn along with the kids as well as doing his job of keeping an eye on them.  
The exhibits were interesting, and set up similar to a science centre. A lot of the children could play with learning games set up in the walls when they weren’t focused on untouchable exhibits the tour guide was telling stories about. The older women looked bored and mostly chatted among themselves as though they’d been here many times before, but Taylor noticed they maintained a good eye on the tribe.  
So when his phone rang and he saw that it was Natalie, he wasn’t too worried about stepping outside to take the call.  
“Hey,” he rubbed the back of his neck, “how is she?”  
“Doing better, but I still think we’ll take her to the hospital to make sure,” his wife’s voice came through.  
He listened for a while as she went into detail of her condition, wincing a little but not saying anything. He almost wished they’d cancelled the excursion so he could be there with her, but knew it was no place for the kids.  
“Are you okay with those three?” he asked, reminded that he only had two out of five.  
“We should be fine. I’ll call you back if anything changes. How is the tour going?”  
“It’s off to a slow start,” Taylor checked over his shoulder, noticing the vocal level had died down, “but Penny seems into it. It only runs for another hour so if you’re still at the hospital we’ll head over that way when we’re done.”  
“Okay I’ll let you know. Thanks Tay.”  
“See you.”  
He hung up and stopped to take a deep breath. He hoped Pam was okay.   
After pocketing his phone again, making sure it was on silent, he headed back inside. The room the kids had previously been in was empty, so he followed through where he’d assumed the tour would go. The second room was smaller with only a couple of activities so he followed the trail to the far door. However when he tried the handle, the door wouldn’t open.  
Confused at why any of the internal doors would be locked, he tried listening to hear if anyone was on the other side before taking a few steps back. He couldn’t see another way that the tour would have logically gone. Maybe he’d taken longer outside than he’d thought…  
He headed back to the foyer to ask at reception. When he made it to the room and found no one there, his breath caught in his throat.  
What was going on?  
There had to be someone around. There were at least twenty kids on the premises. What if one of them got separated from the group and lost? It didn’t appear to be very well organised.  
Checking that there wasn’t a bell or the like on the desk that he could use to call someone, he stepped back and took a deep breath.  
“HELLO?” he called out, “IS ANYONE HERE? HELLO!”  
He waited a moment, wondering if perhaps he’d frightened someone close by, but the footsteps he soon heard came from far down a hall to the right. He stepped aside so he could see the woman making her way down, soon catching her eye.  
“Hey!” he called to her, “I got separated from the group. Could you just show me where my kids are?”  
The woman paused, not even making it out of the hall.  
“Are you alone?” she frowned.  
“Yeah,” he returned the look, thinking it a weird question to ask.  
“How did you get in here?”  
“I just said I came with the tour,” Taylor was already getting frustrated, “I just had to take an important call, and when I came back they were gone. So… where are they?”  
The woman quickly pulled out a walkie talkie and took a step back so he wouldn’t hear her. But he did hear her. She was calling security.  
“Ma’am, please,” he put his hands up, “I’m not making this up. Just call the tour guide on that thing, she’ll tell you I’m missing.”  
“Just wait here and someone will be with you shortly,” she seemed nervous but insistent.  
Taylor dropped his hands and moved back into the foyer. He folded his arms as he waited, unable to shake the odd feeling that something was amiss. He looked to the corner of the ceiling where an active security camera sat before being distracted by the sound of footsteps.  
Two women, one with a clipboard and another with a tray, approached him.  
“Good afternoon Mr…?”  
“Hanson,” Taylor’s frown was back.  
“Hanson. I hear you’ve managed to stray from your tour group.”  
“Yeah,” he wondered if he was finally going to get some help, “I just went outside for a second. Can you point me in their direction?”  
“I’m afraid they’ve gone down to the research level,” the woman with the clipboard looked apologetic, “if you’d like you could wait here for them to return, they shouldn’t be long. But go ahead and try one of our latest samples in the meantime.”  
She indicated the tray which the other woman held forward. On it were some small cut pieces of fruit, along with small sample cups with what he assumed were the different drinks they were peddling.  
“I don’t want anything,” he held up a hand to insist, “I just want to see my kids. They’ll worry if I’m not there, they don’t know anyone else. Could you just take me down there?”  
“Of course,” the woman’s smile faded, “if you insist. Just keep in mind that there is a lot of important work being done on the lower levels and we are not to disturb any of the workers.”  
“I get it,” Taylor assured, about to follow her when the second woman moved the tray in front of him again.  
“Are you sure you wouldn’t like something? Anything?” she pressed.  
“…I’m sure,” Taylor gave her an odd look before stepping past.  
She almost seemed hurt by the rejection, but Taylor was too focused to care. He followed the woman with the clipboard down the hall until they came to an elevator. As they waited the one with the tray caught up – sans the tray – and he heard the other opening and closing the front glass doors. It all seemed… quiet. Unusually quiet. There must have been some heavy sound barriers in this place to completely block out the sound of twenty excited children under ten years old.  
The lift finally came and the three of them got in. Taylor felt a little awkward as he stood between the silent women, watching as the first pressed a button with the title Level 2 – Research. He frowned when he realised there were five underground levels (none above). It must have been easy to get lost in a place like this.  
He was watching the counter above the doors as they made their way down when he heard the woman to his right move. The next thing he knew something liquid had been sprayed directly into his face.  
He sneezed it out and backed against the wall, worried that it might have been mace. But it didn’t sting. It had a slightly sweet yet chemical smell to it, which made him think it must have been one of their more… unorthodox concoctions.  
“What the hell?!” he demanded with a glare in her direction as he worked to wipe his face, before realising she was becoming increasingly blurry.  
He grabbed for the wall as he was hit with a sudden jolt of vertigo, just a moment before the elevator doors opened again.  
“Let’s get him in to Doctor Kingston immediately,” he heard the other woman insist just as he lost his footing.  
He fell backward, furiously rubbing at his eyes. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn’t focus. It was as if whatever she’d hit him with was turning him blind. But that wasn’t all.  
The vertigo he felt became so intense that just as he registered a third person in the elevator, he fell onto his side and passed out.

*

“This tastes funny,” River pulled a face as he tried the green health drink the supervisors had given out.  
“Then don’t drink it,” Penny was looking around nervously, wondering where her Dad was.  
She already felt weird being older than all the other kids. Having her Dad there had been a godsend. She’d seen him take the phone call but thought he was taking longer than he probably should have. Then they’d all been led into the next room – which looked like a boring old classroom – where everyone sat around dull grey tables and were just chatting over some kind of brunch. The door closed behind them and she’d really started to worry.  
“Excuse me,” she called on one of the assistants as she passed their table, “can I go find my Dad?”  
“I’m sure he’s not far,” the woman smiled, “make sure you try your drink and let us know what you think!”  
“I think ew,” River pulled a face.  
The woman said nothing to that and moved on.  
“We should go find Dad,” Penny looked to her brother as he stared at what was left in the cup.  
River looked around, as if only just realising he was gone.  
“Where is he?” he asked, keeping an eye on their supervisors.  
“He was on the phone,” Penny replied, starting to wring her hands, “before we came in here.”  
River looked to the door they’d come in, before jumping out of his seat and walking over to it.   
“River!” Penny wasn’t sure they were allowed to.  
River made it to the door and tried to slide it across, but it wouldn’t budge.  
“Can I help you with something?”  
He jumped and spun when another supervisor suddenly appeared behind him, her hand reaching to rest on the door.  
“Um…” he hesitated caught off guard, “my Dad’s out there.”  
“There was no one left out there, we made sure,” she tried to assure, “come back to your table. We have some more things for you to try.”  
“I kinda want my Dad,” River didn’t move from the door even as she stepped away.  
“If your Dad is here, someone will find him,” the woman insisted, looking as though she were about to lose patience, “now come back to the group and try some food.”  
She moved back to him and put a hand on his shoulder to pull him away.  
“Don’t touch my brother!” Penny shot to her feet when she saw what had happened.  
That caught the attention of most people in the room. In the moment of quiet that followed River’s eyes darted to a door on the side wall that opened to reveal a woman dressed as a doctor. Without hesitation, he ran for it.  
“STOP HIM!” the woman behind him yelled toward the intruder.  
But River was fast. Penny watched as her brother ducked past the lady before her arms could reach for him in time. She felt her heart pounding in her chest as she hoped he wouldn’t get lost as he tried to find their Dad.  
She jumped a few inches when she suddenly felt hands on her shoulders.

*

Taylor could hear voices. Many of them.   
He struggled to open his eyes, already aware that he was moving. Flashes of fluorescent light swept over his face and when he turned his head he could only see grey. Lines of grey.  
Bars.  
The voices were high pitched. They were mournful. Then one of them suddenly stood out from the rest.  
 _”DAD!”_  
Taylor’s eyes shot open and his body jolted.   
“River!”  
But just as soon, a loud pounding echoed painfully in his head and he fell back into the seat. His right hand went to his forehead as he groaned in an attempt to concentrate.  
“Sir?”  
He tried to move his left arm and found that he couldn’t. When he looked over, barely able to open his eyes, he could see something brown but couldn’t tell what it was. Everything was a blur.   
“Sir? Can you hear me?”  
Taylor groaned again and looked to his right as he tried not to fall forward. He barely made out the outline of a person sitting beside him. Their figure was dark but wearing a white coat.  
“There we are.”  
Her tone was condescending, but he wasn’t conscious enough to acknowledge it. He groaned again as he gave up trying to focus on her and turned back to his arm. When his right hand managed to touch it on the second attempt, he could feel some kind of strapping around his elbow. It wasn’t tight, but it stopped him pulling his arm back.  
“Can you tell me how old you are, Sir?”  
Taylor ignored her. He concentrated on not letting himself fall forward as he rested his right arm on the strap. His vision was very slowly clearing and he soon discerned a second strap around his wrist.  
“Sir did you hear me?” she began to sound frustrated.  
“What’s going on?” he frowned when his voice came out croaky.  
His hand went to his throat instead, and his elbow on his knee was now the only thing keeping him up. Aside from the pounding headache the vertigo was starting to make him nauseas.  
“I need to ask you some questions. The sooner you answer them the sooner you will feel well again,” the voice insisted, making him look to his right again.  
She was slowly coming more into focus. She was Hispanic, and her hair was in a tight bun. She wore a blue lanyard over a blue shirt under the white coat he’d seen earlier.  
“How old are you?” she repeated as his eyes roamed.  
He blinked and attempted to rub at his eyes, but took his hand to his left arm again instead.  
“Thirty-two,” he replied, not sure why he even did.  
He could feel the buckle on the strap around his elbow but he had trouble trying to figure out how to undo it.  
“Are you currently on any medication, prescription or otherwise?”  
“No,” Taylor grunted, managing to get his finger under the buckle and around the strap.  
“Please don’t do that.”  
Taylor ignored her again, finding it hard enough to keep one train of thought. He wanted this thing off his arm.  
“Sir do you have any allergies?”  
He struggled to keep his eyes open but he felt like he was making progress. He was just starting to pull the strap through when he felt someone roughly grab his right wrist.  
He fell back into the chair with a grunt, having to close his eyes from the new wave of vertigo.  
“Do you have any allergies?” the voice repeated, sterner.  
“No,” Taylor scorned, unable to hold his head, “why? What’s going on?”  
He heard her sigh and the sound of a pen hitting her clipboard.  
“You’re going to make us a lot of money, that’s what’s happening,” she said matter-of-factly, “and I’m in the market for a new car, so your timing is brilliant.”  
This had to be a dream. Somehow it just hurt like hell.   
When Taylor forced his eyes open again he realised it wasn’t the woman that had hold of his wrist. It was a man standing over him.  
“That will do for now. You can take him.”  
“Wait,” Taylor choked out, before spotting the syringe the man sported.  
He could do nothing to fight back as the needle went into his left arm.   
“Just relax,” the woman’s voice came again, “it will all be over soon. Just go to sleep.”  
“Wait,” Taylor’s voice was barely a whisper.  
He could feel his eyes close, but didn’t feel himself fall back into the chair.

*

River ran down an empty corridor, just hoping to find daylight. If their Dad had been on the phone, he would have gone outside. So he needed to find an outside door.  
When he came to the end of the hall he stopped to look both ways. There were people walking away to the left and no one to the right, so when he heard shouts from behind him he ran to the right.  
He pulled himself to a sudden halt as he ran past an open room where he saw a window. Ducking back into it he headed for the door beside the window, unlocking the catch and finally making it out into the open.  
The room opened onto a concrete landing looking over the swamp that backed onto the property.   
“DAD?!” he called out as the door closed behind him.  
He guessed the front of the building would be around to the right, and that would be where his Dad would have gone. He took off at a run before the door could open behind him again.  
It was a large building and he saw the adults following him before he made it to the corner. At the side of the building there were dumpsters, and the ground was uneven.  
“DAD?!” he tried calling again, hoping he’d hear him from there.  
He didn’t think he was going to make it to the front doors before they caught up with him, and he started to panic. He ran for the dumpsters, suddenly wishing he hadn’t left Penny behind, and tried to find something he could use as a hiding spot until they stopped looking for him. As he heard them coming closer he quickly decided to abandon the dumpsters – too close to the building – and slid himself over a nearby hill so he could hide at the bottom out of sight.  
He could hear the adults’ confusion as they rounded the corner, and a few of them talking on walkie talkies. He held his breath as he heard them search, occasionally calling out to try and coax him into the open. They knew he couldn’t have made it to the next corner. He bit his lip as he tried to decide whether or not he should make another run for it. He didn’t know what they wanted after all and maybe his Dad had already gone back inside.  
He just really didn’t like the way that woman spoke to him. Something about it sent a shiver down his spine.  
He had a quick look around to see if there were any branches that could cover him over, but the next time he looked up it was into the eyes of one of the doctors.  
“There you are,” she spoke condescendingly.  
River scrambled to his feet, but once he was up he instantly saw that he was surrounded.   
“Come back inside,” another insisted, indicating for him to come to them.  
“Where’s my Dad?” he looked between them, feeling cornered.  
“He’s inside,” the doctor lady assured, “we just spoke to him. He’s very worried about you.”  
“Then why isn’t he here?” River frowned.  
“Your sister’s worried too,” another woman insisted, pulling his attention to the right, “why don’t you come back inside and tell her everything’s okay?”  
River frowned at that before he was suddenly grabbed from behind. He cried out at the shock and started kicking, but the others came forward in an effort to restrain him.  
“Calm down!” the doctor insisted, pulling something from her pocket, “pacify him and get him inside.”  
“NO! DAD! _Let me go_!” River struggled as something was placed over his face and he was forced to breathe in a sweet scent.  
Whatever it was made him lightheaded, and he soon found he couldn’t fight back.   
Before he could completely pass out he felt himself being carried back into the building. 

*

Taylor groaned as he came to, at first struggling to open his eyes. He soon gave up as he twisted his body, feeling the familiar touch and hearing the familiar sound of crisp hotel bed sheets.   
His head was still pounding and he automatically blamed it for the nightmare.  
“Nat?” he murmured, reaching his right arm out to find her.  
His fingers touched plaster. With a frown he used his left hand to force his eyes open, but they still had trouble focusing. Especially when he was almost blinded by the white wall he’d been facing.  
He turned to the left and immediately sat up. He couldn’t quite make out what it was yet, but it was definitely not a hotel room. Or a hospital room. Or any kind of room for that matter. There was approximately two yards of space between the bed and what looked like a glass window, which led through to some kind of dark passageway.  
Taylor threw the cotton sheets off and swung his legs out, just as soon hit by another pang of nausea. He doubled over at the edge of the bed as he tried to recover, at the same time blinking to try and get his eyes working.  
He had to be seeing things.  
He managed to pull himself to his feet and stumble forward. His hands hit the glass – which turned out to be Perspex – and he squinted as he struggled to see through it at an angle.  
There was a dim light somewhere to the left, but it was only enough to make out the wall of the corridor. Which was barely as wide as the bed. To the right he couldn’t see anything but black.  
The room, or whatever it was, was slightly longer than the bed. At the opposite end of the Perspex there seemed to be some kind of door. He aimed for it, still having trouble keeping himself stable and having to hold on for balance. When he got to it he felt around the edges, trying to find a latch. He could see one on the outside, but the inside seemed to seal air tight. There was no handle.  
Grunting as he had to lean forward he tried to inspect something in the middle of the door. It was sealed from the outside like the door itself, but appeared to have some kind of small catchment that could pass things through… again operated from the outside. Taylor could feel his chest tightening as he worked out that there was no way to open it and he turned back into the room.  
At the foot of the bed sat a drink fountain, and beside that a steel toilet. The corner seemed to house a thin shower which had nothing but two taps and a spout. There was no other door. A small desk by the head of the bed held a lamp which helped illuminate the room, but the majority of the light came from a fluorescent tube that sat outside the Perspex aimed inward.  
There was a vent in the middle of the ceiling about the size of a dinner plate. The air coming through was the only noise he could hear. Beside it sat a smaller circle which looked like some kind of speaker.  
Finally succumbing to the vertigo again, Taylor closed his eyes and slid to the floor with his back to the Perspex. He wasn’t going to figure out what was going on if he couldn’t concentrate.   
He rubbed his face as he tried to wake himself up, taking deep breaths in an effort to ward off the nausea. He could still feel the pain of the needle that had gone into his arm, telling him his ‘nightmare’ had been very real.   
He looked to his right, toward the dim light in the hallway, wondering how long he was supposed to stay there. Was this some kind of jail? Quarantine? Had he been exposed to something and had to be isolated?  
He couldn’t remember much of what had happened. He remembered the strange conversation with someone who looked like a doctor… something about a car? He remembered hearing River yell out to him. Had River been exposed to something too? Had Penny?  
 _Why was he the only one there?_

A light coming on in the distance made him jump. His eyes glued to it, he soon saw shadows making their way toward him before another set of lights came on closer. Looking to the ceiling he realised they must have been on sensors, automatically coming on as whoever was coming got closer.  
He leant against the Perspex to push himself away, struggling for a moment to get onto his knees and push himself up. By the time anyone came into view he’d made it to his feet.  
It was two women doctors, one Hispanic and one blonde. He thought he recognised the Hispanic one but he wasn’t sure.  
“Hey!” he called out, leaning in to the Perspex with his right hand, “what’s going on?!”  
The doctors looked between each other and laughed about something. He couldn’t hear what they were saying. The blonde read something from her clipboard as they came to rest in front of him, the Hispanic just looking him over.  
“What?!” Taylor frowned, “where am I?! What did you do with my kids?!”  
She stared at him a moment longer before stepping to the left. Taylor followed her with his eyes as her fingers pressed something out of sight.  
“Glad to see you awake.”  
Taylor jumped a little as he registered her voice coming from the speaker in the ceiling. The Perspex must have been both air and sound tight. He gulped a little at the realisation.  
“Can you hear me?” he asked worriedly.  
“Loud and clear, for now,” her eyes didn’t waver from him, “you must have some questions. What can I help you with?”  
Taylor’s eyes locked to hers as he tried to read her body language. She appeared amused, as if this were a game. The blonde didn’t. She almost looked like a college student taking notes in class.  
He looked back to the one awaiting his response. The look on her face made him suddenly feel as though he needed to tread very carefully.  
“Where are my kids?” he asked cautiously, staring her down.  
“Safe,” she responded blandly, “but that’s all we can tell you.”  
“Why?” his frown deepened, “where am I? What are we even doing here?”  
“You’re at the Oklahoma Nutritional Research Facility and Laboratory, the location of which is classified.”  
“Classified?” Taylor squinted in confusion, registering that they hadn’t left the building the excursion had been to.  
“Yes,” the woman mused, “you’ve stumbled on some very important work here. We’re very excited to have you join us for it.”  
Taylor looked to the blonde who was now regarding him curiously.   
“What work?” he blinked as he looked between them, “what are you talking about?”  
“Experimentation,” the doctor revealed, “we rigorously test every product we send out. First on animals but that doesn’t always give the most accurate reading, you understand. So we use children.”  
“Children?” Taylor could feel goose bumps crossing his skin and his heart starting to race, “you experiment on kids?”  
“We only take a specially selected few. No one will ever know their whereabouts. As I told you, it’s all classified,” she explained, “but we are all very excited to finally have another adult male here to help us.”  
Taylor blanched at her terminology. He still wasn’t sure he wasn’t dreaming all of this. He could feel the tightness in his chest and the cool touch of the Perspex on his hand, the light hurt his eyes and the cell smelled of disinfectant, but this surely couldn’t be real.  
“What do you mean?” he finally bit after taking a moment to gather himself.  
“Well usually we have women chaperoning the children,” the doctor spoke as if she were talking to a child, “it’s nice to have some biological variety. You’re a very valuable acquisition for us. I hope you can appreciate just what your presence here will mean to us.”  
“And if I refuse?” he gulped slightly, already catching onto the fact that it really was a cell.  
“I think you know that’s not really an option,” she continued to speak down to him, “rest assured the facility, your state government and your country are all very grateful for your sacrifice.”  
“Wait!” Taylor panicked a little when he realised she was about to drop the intercom, “how long do I have to stay here?! When can I see my kids?!”  
“You will remain here until you are no longer viable as a test subject,” the woman responded before actually stepping away.  
She moved to the blonde’s side and indicated her clipboard where she quickly made some notes.  
“What about my kids?!” Taylor’s voice rose as he hit the Perspex, “WHAT ABOUT MY KIDS?!”  
The doctors seemed to deliberate a moment longer before moving back down the corridor. Once again the sensor lights followed their movements, leaving the hallway in darkness once they were gone.  
Taylor’s fist hit the window but he didn’t feel more than a slight vibration. It was a thick window, and he knew that while he was still suffering the effects of the drugs that he wouldn’t be able to break it.  
He wondered how many other people might have already tried.   
He let his forehead hit the window as he closed his eyes again, trying to concentrate.   
_Until you are no longer viable_ , echoed in his head.   
What did she mean? Until he got sick? Until he _died_?  
He slid to his knees again, his legs unable to hold him up any longer. He felt as though he could sleep for a week and still not recover entirely.   
He had to think. How could this possibly work? People were going to notice them missing. People knew the excursion they’d gone on, it had been part of a government survey…  
 _Government_. She’d said they were involved. Did that mean they couldn’t rely on the authorities?  
But Natalie would know where they were.   
Or would she? As Taylor thought back, he remembered looking over the letter of invitation. The address it specified had been the meeting place where they’d boarded the facility’s bus. Most parents had dropped their kids off there, and he’d simply left his car in the lot.   
He couldn’t remember ever being told the actual address. He couldn’t remember ever seeing it written down somewhere. He couldn’t even remember ever seeing a picture of the building. Natalie had just insisted that they go because it was supposed to be a once in a lifetime opportunity for the kids…

He looked to the ceiling as he began to feel the vertigo lessening. He was able to distinguish that the vent was held up with four screws. There was no way he would fit through it if he had to somehow escape, but if he could find something to pry the door open… the trouble would be worth it.  
On the other hand, if the doctors told the truth… _could he escape the government?_  
He checked back down the hallway to make sure no one was coming before pushing himself to his feet again. If he stood on the bed he could easily reach the vent. The screws were in too hard to get out by hand, so he looked around the room again. All he’d be able to use would be the lamp or the desk it sat on. He weighed his options while keeping a hand on the ceiling to keep him balanced, before the light outside the room began to amplify again telling him that someone was coming back.  
He stepped down from the bed to wait, not wanting them to see what he was doing.  
When they came into view he saw that the blonde woman had returned with a male doctor. She still had her clipboard and he was carrying a familiar tray.  
She moved to the intercom while he moved to the door. Taylor’s eyes glued to him, watching as he set small cups filled with both green and clear liquid into the catchment on the door.  
“First assessment,” the woman’s voice came through the speaker, “you will need to fast for twenty four hours before we begin stage one. These supplements will see you through the night and tomorrow morning.”  
Taylor flinched as the male doctor made eye contact. It put him off enough that he missed the action of the catchment shifting into the room.  
“Please keep your water intake high, and sleep as much as possible. The sedatives should wear off overnight.”  
“What is that?” Taylor indicated the cups.  
“A dietary supplement, as I said,” the woman insisted as the man locked the catch and removed his latex gloves.  
“Wait!” Taylor darted forward when he saw they were about to leave, “where are my kids?! Please! Just tell me they’re okay!”  
But she’d already dropped the intercom. He didn’t hear what the man said as the woman filled in the sheet on her clipboard before turning to retreat down the hall once again. The man stopped beside the intercom, made eye contact once more, and then flipped a switch which turned off the outside light.   
He was left with the dull illumination of the desk lamp, and the now distinct smell of wheatgrass.


End file.
